THE CHINA MAIL'S
Windsor House Supplement
HONG KONG, APRIL 21, 1941.
MANY UNIQUE FEATURES
An
INDSOR
W
HOUSE,
Hong Kong's newest and one of the finest office buildings, is not only a completely modern eight- storey structure but in- cludes a large number of unique features, some of which are a result of the special peculiarities of
the site, while others are based on a study of the needs of such buildings in Hong Kong.
The architects, Messrs Leigh and Orange, of which in Mr J. E Potter, A RIBA, was primeipatty responsible, had not only to take into consideration such things an underground stretn and artwork of drams and cable, but also had to allow for the differ- ence in the levels of Des Voeux and Queen's Roads, as it 18 Dr posed eventually to es'end the bulding over what is now the St. Praneis Hotel, making a }itlgte and roughly U shaped structure
The bulk of the binding, which at the moment runs some 20 feet Jurther back than the Exchange Building next door, is laken with the 154k! offices. all which are already occupied.
Special Needs
Spectal arrangements, however, had to be made to cater to the needs of three occupiers. the Dairy Farmi, whose premises take up the ground and mezzanin" floors in front; the Newspaper Enterprise, Limited, whose print ing machinery and offices occupy the same floors at the back. away from the noises of the street; and a large Ballroom, owned by Gray Brothers, on the top floor.
No less than 338 concrete piles. the majority of them be ween 3 and 40 feet in length, were driven in below the level of the pile cap ping, which in many places » b low the basement foundation old buildings formerly
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训
site of what 1 ;+ How Wardcor House.
This old pile capping wi slabs on a bed 1 line and cement concrete.
Below Sea Level
Excavation was frequently be low sea-level and this, toge her with the fact that an underground stream from the upper levels runs across the site, made pump- ing necessary at all times. in addition, there were variations in the water levels as the tides rose and fell, together with great variation after the exceptionally heavy rains which prevailed al- most throughout construction.
The level of the basement floor was laid four feet above the ord- nance datum, and, with the ex- perience of typhoons and floods in former years in the Colony, the architects made arrangements for the whole of the basement to be very carefully water-proofed. A water- proof membrane makes the whole basement into a vast tank; a reinforced laver of concrete on the floor resists up-
Underground Stream
للسنة
DRG 204
An architect's sketch of Windsor House.
ward pressure, while a protective skin of brick has been applied to the walls.
The difficulties of piling and excavation were mt, however, confined to the problem of water. There was a veritable network of electric and telephone cables, 80 pipes and sewers, in the lane ad- Joining the Exchange Building and on the Des Voeux Road fron- tage.
In addition, constant attention
was required to the main drain taking the outfall from the St. Francis Hotel, Marina House and the Exchange Building, owing to fractures following subsidence,
Turning to the structure proper, the building is of reinforced con- crete frame construction. Except on the Des Voeux Road frontage, the walls are monolithic,
the space between the rows of win- dows being a reinforced concrete beam bearing the floor load.
a
The roof is constructed of reinforced concrete truss, which serves the dual purpose of eff- ciently Insulating the upper floor from the heat of a summer sun and also allows the top floor to be free of internal columns an important consideration in view of the cabaret there.
The windows on the Des Voeux Road frontage, incidentally, - are recessed and protected by a con- (Continued on Page 4)
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